Sometimes, happy memories hurt the most
by Unicorn20023
Summary: Hermione Granger relives some of her favourite memories with Fred on the day of his funeral.


Fremione Fred death Hermione remembers moments

"Fred?" Hermione whispers, as her eyes open, groggily.

She rolls over in bed as her eyes shut again and slings her arm over to the opposite side of the bed. Her eyes shoot open when her arms drops limply to the mattress. She stares at the empty space, silent tears running down her cheeks. 'That's right,' She thinks. 'He's gone.' Her hand fists the cover as if it's the only thing keeping her grounded and a sob escapes her. 'And he's never coming back.' She adds to her thoughts. Once she manages to pull herself together, she rises from the far too big bed and starts getting ready for the painful day ahead.

 _"It's not going to work." Hermione said in a singsong voice, as the twins paraded about with their aging potions._

 _"Oh, yeah, and why is that, Granger?" George asked, as the twins planked themselves down extremely close to her._

 _"You see this?" Hermione asked, motioning to the age line. "This is an age line. Dumbledore drew it himself._

 _"So?" Fred asked._

 _"Tsk." Hermione said, in a matter of fact tone. "So, a genius like Dumbledore couldn't possibly be fooled by a doge as pathetically dim witted as an aging potion."_

 _"Ah, but that's why it's so brilliant-" Fred started._

 _"because it's so pathetically dim witted." George finished. And they both rose with a laugh._

 _"Ready Fred?"_

 _"Ready George."_

 _"Bottoms up." They said together and drank the potion._

 _They jumped past the line and everything seemed to stop. Hermione grinned as they all celebrated, knowing that they were celebrating far too early. They put their names in the Goblet but they were spat back out and the twins were thrown back, past the line. Hermione giggled at their new appearance. After that, they started wrestling and arguing._

 _..._

 _"Don't say it." Fred groaned, the next night as she sat next to him by the fire._

 _"Don't say what?" Hermione asked, looking at him. She couldn't help but think that the fire enhanced his features, complementing them greatly._

 _"I told you so, about the whole beard incident." He said, turning to look at her._

 _"I don't know what you're talking about." She said, innocently as she turned back to looking at the fire._

 _He snorted. "You're a peculiar one, Miss Granger."_

 _"In a good way, I hope." She smiled._

 _"Of course, I don't think I could ever think of you in a bad way." He said, subconsciously._

 _She hesitated, not believing what he'd said. "Likewise."_

 _Realisation struck him like a tidal wave and his face turned bright red._

 _"It's pretty late, we should probably get to sleep." Fred stated, rising from the couch._

 _"I thought older people needed less sleep." She teased and Fred puts a hand to his heart._

 _"And I thought you knew to respect your elders." He retorted, with a grin. "Plus, being older has made me wiser."_

 _"Yeah, right." She laughed._

 _"I'll pretend I didn't hear that." He said._

 _"You probably didn't, old age has made you deaf." She said, bolting up the stairs before he could catch her._

"Hermione, dear?" Hermione hears the soft voice of Molly Weasley call from down the stairs.

They had been staying at 12 Grimmauld Place since the war and each day there had been an individual funeral held for each brave fighter who had lost their lives. Today would be the hardest for Hermione. In fact, she had even considered not going because her heart was already shattered beyond repair. She and George had become extraordinarily close before his death but after, their bond seemed to have strengthened and she promised that she would be there to support George and to help herself to find some sort of comfort and resolve.

"Coming." She managed to choke out. She descended the stairs and saw that the Weasley's, Harry and Teddy were waiting.

"Are you okay?" George asks Hermione, seeing the distant look on her face.

"Yeah, I was just thinking about that time you and Fred took aging potions to enter your names for the Triwizard Tournament." Hermione smiles, sadly.

"Yeah, good times." George mirrors her smile. "I wish it hadn't been the only time we saw each other old."

"Me neither, George." Hermione chokes back a sob, pulling the older boy into a hug. "Me neither."

"Come on, dears." Molly urges, gently.

They all load into several black funeral cars and Hermione is so cut off that she doesn't even take notice of who is in the car with her. She simply stares out of the window, thinking about the first time she and Fred had a proper moment together. The night of the Yule Ball.

 _"Hermione?" Hermione slowly brought her head up to see Fred standing, staring at her with an expression she couldn't quite interpret._

 _She was sitting on the stairs with her heels off to the side, crying, hugging her knees to her chest. Ron had hurt her feelings immensely and not because - as everyone seemed to think - she fancied Ron but because he was supposed to be her friend and he didn't trust her, and he made her feel useless. Which, by the way, is one of the worst ways to feel. He slowly approached her and sat down as well. She suddenly became self-conscious and reaslised that her face was tear stained and she looked quite dishevelled. She looked away._

 _"Hey." He said softy, turning her head to face him. He wiped her tears with his thumbs, as he cupped her face. "I know what Ron did, so you don't have to explain."_

 _She sniffled. "He's a git."_

 _"That he is." Fred replied._

 _"I mean, I don't understand why he's treating me like this." Hermione sighed. "One minute he's fine and the next, he's not. I can't keep track. They both know that I would never betray them or do anything to hurt them, yet they displayed that with me tonight."_

 _"Hermione?" George said, just above a whisper._

 _"Yeah?" She asked, sniffling again._

 _"I'm going to let you in on something." George said, before leaning closer and whispering. "Ron fancies you. He's jealous."_

 _"Wh-what?" Hermione spluttered._

 _"Ron-" He said, ruffling his ginger hair. "Fancies-" He continued, making a love heart with his hands at his chest. "You." He finished, pointing both fingers at her._

 _She giggled at his childlike actions. "No, silly, I just meant that, that can't possibly be."_

 _"And why possibly not?" He asked, looking her in the eyes._

 _She pushed back a threatening smirk at his use of copying her words. "Because I'm me. Fred, it's completely impossible for anyone to like me, including Ron."_

 _"I wouldn't say impossible." He muttered._

 _"Can I ask you a question?" Hermione asked._

 _"What makes you think Ron likes me?" She asked, timidly._

 _"I hate to break it to you, but it's pretty obvious." He stated._

 _"Really?"_

 _"The way he stops speaking when you walk in the room. The way he always predicts where you are. The way you're the first face he searches for when he enters a room. The way he always pays attention, even when he doesn't have a clue what you're talking about. The way he causes distractions or redirects conversations whenever you become uncomfortable. The way he always looks at your eyes, noticing the change in tone each day and night. The way he can tell how you're feeling, even if it's a barely noticeable change. The way your smile makes him smile. The conversations by the fire, even if it's meaningless or small talk. The happiness he feels, even if you're reprimanding him. The challenge he feels when you out smart him at his own game. You're really quite remarkable, Miss Granger. I could keep going and list all the things - he feels - that I notice." He finished lamely._

 _Hermione didn't want to feel self absorbed but the context in which he was speaking was in far too much detail to be the simple feelings of 'like', especially from Ron. She was sure she would have spotted it._

 _"I-" She started, but was cut off when Fred stood up abruptly. "Fred?"_

 _"It's going to get pretty busy once the balls over, everyone will come flooding out." He explained, holding his hand out for her. "Do you want to go back in or would you like to go back to Gryffindor Tower?"_

 _"I think I'll just head back, I'm not really up for anymore loudness and dances." She replied, taking his hand and letting him pull her up._

 _"I'll escort you." He said, holding his arm out._

 _"That's really not necessary, I don't want to take you away from the dance and ruin your night. Oh my, I've already did that." Hermione stated, feeling like a nuisance._

 _"Hermione, there is no way I'm leaving you, not now." Fred said, flashing her a smile and signalling to his waiting arm. "Plus, you haven't ruined my night, my night was ruined the moment I had to dance."_

 _"Two left feet?" Hermione laughed, relating to his thoughts on dancing. She linked arms with him and they started walking up the stairs, with Fred holding her shoes in his free hand._

 _"Absolutely." He said with a laugh._

 _"Same here." She said._

 _"Maybe, we could practice sometime." Fred looked down at her, as they walked. "You never know, our four left feet might combine to make at least one right."_

 _She snorted. "That's completely illogical, but yes, I would love to."_

 _"Great."_

 _Upon arriving in the Common Room, the pair sat by the fire, talking until everyone had come back and were away. Fred walked Hermione to the stairs leading to her dorm and took her hand in his._

 _"Goodnight, Mione." He smiled, kissing her hand._

 _"Goodnight." She smiled, feeling immensely warm._

"-one? Hermione?" Hermione turned her head to see Ginny, waving her hand in front of her face.

"Huh? Sorry, I was...lost in thought." Hermione answers.

"That's okay." Ginny says, mustering a warm smile, knowing what the girl had been thinking about, or should she say who. She placed a hand on Hermione's shoulder. "We're here now."

"Oh." Was all she could reply.

She emerges from the car and sees a small gathering of people, most recognisable. The group consisted of some of the Weasley's family and some close friends. Hermione managed a small smile when she spotted Lee Jordan amongst them.

"Hermione, you look beautiful." Angelina says, one of twins' close friends.

"So do you." She smiles, earning one in return.

"I didn't think you'd come." Angelina admits, a sympathetic look on her face, but not the annoying or mocking kind but the more understanding kind.

"In all honesty, I nearly didn't." Hermione says, looking at her feet, ashamed.

"Well, I for one, think you are the strongest person I have ever come across." Angelina smiles.

They talk as they walk in the sunshine to where the ceremony is to be held. Hermione couldn't help but smile, the sun was shining, illuminating the beautifully kept cemetery, it was quite warm, birds were chirping and she even saw a squirrel run up a tree. It was nothing like she thought the funeral would be like. She found the outcome to be pretty ironic as he would've always wanted a funeral like this, happy instead of sad, outside in the sunshine rather than inside all gloomily. The entire organisation of the turn out practically screamed his name.

She was glad it was warm, so she wouldn't get cold. She was glad Angelina said she looked nice because she had been told so the first time she wore the outfit. She examined her wardrobe choice again and smiled.

 _It was a Hogsmead weekend and Hermione was practically about to explode. She had run down to the great hall and eat breakfast quickly before running back up and changing again, this time into the simple black lace dress she had recently bought. It was knee length, had a skater skirt and a gold bow tied around the waist, along with the cut opening on the back in the shape of a love heart. She threw her hair up into a bun and didn't bother applying any make up, as she had been told by someone that they liked her natural beauty far too much for her to cover it with make up. She smiled at the thought and put on some lip balm instead._

 _She left with Harry and Ron and made it to her first and only stop of the day. Weasley's Wizarding Wheezes. She only made it to the door, when it was pulled open and she was greeted with the face of George._

 _"How do you do?" He asked, in a posh voice and bowing as he held the door open for her._

 _"Exquisite." She smirked._

 _"I'm just going to pretend I know what that means." He said, confused._

 _"So where's your brother?" Hermione asked, looking around._

 _"He should be making an appearance right about...now." And sure enough, Fred appeared, having hoped off the side of the second floor._

 _"Fred, you idiot, you could get hurt." Hermione scolded._

 _"But I didn't." He grinned._

 _"So not the point." She sighed. She turned back to look at him, having noticed he went quiet, not see him staring. She didn't realise he was looking at her._

 _"You look beautiful, Hermione." He commented, looking dazed._

 _"T-thank you." She smiled._

 _"So, what do you want to do today?" Fred asked._

 _"I don't know." She admitted._

 _"I was thinking-"_

 _"Nope, not a chance. We are not pranking Tonks." Hermione said, already knowing his suggestion. "You know she always out smarts you."_

 _"You know me too well." He smiled, but the smile soon turned into a devious smirk. He grabbed her hand and started running out the shop with her. "But not well enough to know that I've already done it, we just need to see the outcome."_

 _..._

 _They were sat on the ground, covered in slime._

 _"I do know you well." Hermione teased. "I did say that she always out smarts you and I was right."_

 _"Yeah, yeah. I get it." He said, swiping some slime from himself and flicking it on Hermione._

 _"Gross." She shivered._

 _A slime war broke out after that._

Hermione was sat on one of the seats in the front row, a tear rolled down her face at the memory. She listened to the ceremony intently, carving every detail and word into her mind. Afterwards, the crowd died down and most started leaving to head to Hogwarts for the gathering Minerva had planned in his memory.

Hermione was the last to stay behind, finally being alone, after reassuring Molly and Arthur that she would join them at Hogwarts in a little while. She stood staring at his freshly filled grave plot and the gravestone at the stop.

A part inscribed was 'Love is holding onto the memories that only the heart can see.'.

Another tear escaped and she knelt down, placing his favourite flowers in front of the stone and brushed her fingers over it.

 _"Fred!" Hermione screamed, as she watched a Death Eater advance on Fred who was on the ground._

 _She started running, faster than she had ever gone before. She had to get to him. She was too far away._

 _"Where do you think you're going?" A Death Eater asked, as he grabbed her and held her firmly in place._

 _"Let me go!" She cried, the other Death Eater raising his wand and hitting Fred with a spell. "No!"_

 _The Death Eater holding her suddenly went limp and she ran over to where Fred was, in a fit of panic._

 _"Avada Kedavra!" She shouted, her voice breaking as she hit the Death Eater. She collapsed on the ground and moved the rubble off of Fred. "Fred? Oh god, Fred? Please don't die, don't leave me!"_

 _"Jeez, Hermione." Fred said coarsely. "So little faith."_

 _"Fred!" She said, tears streaming down her face as she noticed all the blood and his half closed eyes._

 _"Why are you crying?" He asked, his words becoming slower, as he forced his hand up to her face and wiped her tears._

 _"What do you mean, 'why am I crying'? You idiot." She sobbed._

 _"Hermione." He rasped, lifting his fist up shakily and she rested her against his in a fist bump. "I'm a Weasley remember? I'm too...cool to...die."_

 _With that, his eyes closed, his breathing was undetectable and his heart stopped. His fist slipped from Hermione's, dragging down her fist until it dropped to the ground._

 _"Fred! No!" Hermione screamed. "I love you, idiot! You have to come back."_

 _She hugged his body, clutching it as if there was no tomorrow. Well that was true was him._

 _"Please, come back to me." She whispered in his ear. "I love you."_

Tears were falling freely and Hermione was saddened and happy at the reminiscent memories. Still kneeling down, she leaned in to the grave stone and pressed her lips to it in a soft kiss.

 _"Have I ever told you I love you?" Fred asked, hugging her from behind, his head on her shoulder._

 _"You've mentioned it once or twice." She teased._

 _"Well, I do. I really love you." Fred smiled, before turning her around and pushing her back on the couch so they both fell onto it. He started tickling her._

 _"I love you, Fred." She said, after her breathing returned to a natural pace. Fred smiled, he knew how Hermione never like saying too because she felt like it was just like agreeing and not actually meaning anything as strong as the three words themselves. So, in return, he did the same._

 _"I love you." He smiled like an idiot, and then leaned down, kissing her._

 _She responded by pulling him down and wrapping her arms around him as he did the same. She felt safe and smiled at how truly happy she was. She whished that it would last forever._

'It will last forever in my heart.' Hermione thought, as she pulled back and smiled.

She knew that no one could fill the space Fred had left in her heart but that didn't bother her one bit because she had the memories locked in her heart and mind, and lots of loving families to grow with. Fred Weasley would never be forgotten by Hermione Granger.

The smile remained on her face and she sobbed before speaking softly.

"You died loved, Freddie." Hermione says, before leaving the his grave.


End file.
